Right before you know it

By ALASTAIR SLOANE motoring editor

First scenario: You are going into a corner too fast, the front wheels lose traction and the car continues to go straight ahead. This is called understeer. You brake and throttle off. Reducing power will transfer weight to the front of the car and grip to the front tyres. You might still end up in a hedge, however.

Second scenario: Same corner, same speed. But this time the transfer of weight causes the rear of the car to slide sideways. This is called oversteer. You brake and throttle off. What next? The hedge again?

"Controlling oversteer is trickier," says long-time New Zealand race driver Owen Evans. "When a car is speeding the weight goes to its rear. Slowing down, it goes to the front.

"Braking and lifting off [the accelerator] transfers more weight over the front. In a front-drive car this gives the front tyres more traction. This is what you want.

"Lifting off in a rear-drive car lightens the weight in the rear and reduces traction to the rear tyres. This is what you don't want.

"You can control oversteer on the racetrack with the throttle, by keeping the power on while turning the front wheels in the direction of the slide.

"But on the road you're best not to get into that situation in the first place. If oversteer happens, like in wet conditions, lift off immediately, brake, and turn the front wheels in the direction of the slide.

"Your aim here is to reduce speed quickly and stop safely. It's a good idea in a manual car to push in the clutch through all of this. That puts the driven wheels in neutral."

Not long ago the driver was on their own in such situations. He or she and God. These days, almost even before the driver senses things might get out of shape, technology can cut in and compensate for mistakes.

It began with anti-lock (ABS) brakes, invented by German company Bosch in 1978. ABS allowed drivers to brake and steer at the same time.

Since then, the electronics that control ABS have been developed to include driver assistance technology like traction control, brake force distribution and electronic stability programme, among others.

Traction control distributes braking force to a wheel or wheels losing grip. Brake force distribution applies maximum braking when sensors detect it is needed, like when a driver is too timid with the brake pedal.

Electronic stability programmes use sensors that monitor how the car's been driven. It will brake the inside wheels to correct understeer and the outside wheels to correct oversteer.

Studies in Europe by Mercedes-Benz, a pioneer of many safety features, found that vehicles fitted with stability control were 29 per cent less likely to be involved in single-vehicle crashes. Toyota's research showed a 35 per cent improvement.

Peugeot believes stability control is one of the most important driver assistance packages, too. That's one of the reasons why it has fitted ESP to its upcoming 307CC and 206 GTi 180.

The coupe/convertible 307CC will go on sale here in January, the 206 GTi 180 on November 1. Pre-production models of both cars have been here for some time. No price on the 307CC yet but the GTi 180 is listed at a competitive $39,990.

The 180 is the lickety-split version of the 206 GTi range. It is powered by a reworked 180bhp (134kW) version of the 2-litre 100kW engine fitted to the present 206 GTi.

The new four-cylinder unit produces peak power at 7000rpm and torque of 202Nm at 4750rpm.

The car rides on 17-inch wheels and the suspension has also been revised to cope with its extra power, which is more apparent through the gears than off the start line.

The premium 206 shares styling features with other models in the range but is distinguished by a honeycomb grille mesh in the front and a rear spoiler and twin chrome-plated tailpipes in the rear.

The 307CC joins the 307 hatchback and station wagon, of which 1463 have been sold since the hatchback went on sale in December 2001 and the station wagon later last year.

Two 307CC models will be available, one powered by the 100kW 2-litre engine, the other by the 134kW unit.

The 307CC is 120mm longer than the 307 hatchback, thanks to an extended rear overhang to accommodate the power-operated folding roof and boot, but sits on the same 2610mm wheelbase.

Like the smaller 206CC, the hard top is made up of two steel panels linked to electro-hydraulic arms and struts. The first panel forms the roof. The second panel holds the heated rear window, its framework and rear window pillars.

The car becomes a convertible through a button on the centre console. It swings the two roof panels into synchronised action, opening and folding them like the movements of a mime artist and tucking them into a rear boot lid all in about 30 seconds.

The mechanically retractable hard-top roof is not new. The 1940 Chrysler Thunderbolt had one, so did the 1957 Ford Fairlane Skyliner. The latest Mercedes-Benz SLK has one, too.

But Peugeot says it was the first, back in 1934 with the 401D, a limited-edition called the Eclipse Coupe-Convertible, penned and patented in 1933 by Paris dentist Georges Paulin.

Small engines powered by electricity from the car's battery helped fold a sheet metal roof back into the boot in just 15 seconds.

The 401D was replaced in 1936 by the 402 IIcv, a similar hard-top convertible which broke new ground in Europe for its aerodynamics.

The model was discontinued in 1939 after 700 were built. One is on show in the Peugeot Museum. Paulin never lived long enough to enjoy the status of his creation. He joined the French Resistance at the outbreak of World War II and was later executed by the Nazis.